Disclaimer: All information provided at Get Rich Slowly is for informational
purposes only. Rates & offers from advertisers shown on this website change
frequently, sometimes without notice. Visit referenced sites for current
information. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies
mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise.

We want to talk to you if:

Personal Finance Tip:“Did you learn anything in England and Ireland?” a friend asked the
other day. I brushed the question aside; I didn’t have a good answer.
But I’ve been thinking about it. Maybe I did learn something: being
gone for three weeks taught me that I have too much stuff.

The Importance of Finishing What You Started

J.D. is on vacation in Alaska. This is a guest post by Bill Goodwin, who co-edits the debating site Dissense. Bill has been following the GRS gospel since converting to the religion of financial common sense three years ago.

Personal finance blogs, and none more so than Get Rich Slowly, offer a wealth of resources for people looking to master their spending and take charge of their fiscal health. Want to know how snowball your debt, start a Roth IRA, rent or buy or even be happier? There’s a post for that. As Ami Kim recently pointed out, “Between J.D.’s (and others’) posts and the treasure trove of comments, you could build a path to wealth tailored to your individual income, assets, and circumstances.”

Unfortunately, all these tools can actually be an obstacle to financial success. Worse, if we’re not careful, the very resources we appreciate so dearly — the regular blog posts, the always available guides, the stories of success — can work against our own ability to take action.

No, I’m not saying we should all abandon J.D. and stumble blindly into our financial futures. Rather, I’d like to highlight a hidden trap that can slow (and in some cases undermine) our personal journeys to sane and stable finances.

Beware of Completionism
In his most recent book, Create Your Own Economy, the insightful economist Tyler Cowen had a fascinating discussion of how reading on the internet becomes its own reward.

One of the great appeals of blog posts is the expectation of receiving a new reward (and finishing off that reward) every single day. You can “start a new book” — albeit a very short one — pretty much on demand. You can finish it off not only in the same day but usually in the very same sitting. How’s that for a feeling of accomplishment?

A sense of accomplishment is wonderful, but it’s important to remember what you’ve accomplished: very little. That is, if you’re reading about personal finance you may have learned a lot about automating your finances or getting rid of Stuff, but that’s very different than accomplishing either of those goals.

The danger is that you can fall prey to completionism: the jolt of satisfaction from finishing a blog post or reading through a whole series becomes the reward. We get a sense of satisfaction before we’ve even taken more than the first step in the right direction. In fact, as Cowen points out, the more you read, the more satisfying it is. In contrast, the reward for getting control of spending could be months (or more!) in the future.

Completionism may seem harmless enough, but consider the phenomenon in light of another psychological discovery.

What you read affects how you behave
A pair of Canadian psychologists recently studied the effect of having consumers browse a website heavily branded with eco-friendly goods. Not surprisingly, they found that people who purchased green goods considered themselves more “virtuous.” What was a surprise was that they found “markedly different behavioral consequences” after “mere exposure to green products.” That’s right: people started acting differently after merely looking at a website.

What were the behavioral consequences? The study found that people “act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal.” The participants, beginning with their browsing, acted as if they had built up moral capital and could spend it however they liked. Simply because of what they read on a website, people were less likely to feel obligated in moral situations.

J.D. has written before about the problem of spending like the person you want to be (instead of who you are). That makes sense: if we purchase sports clothes, we think of ourselves as athletes, at least for the moment. This study takes that even farther: we start to self-identify on the basis of what we read. It doesn’t take much of a leap to see how this could be a problem. Want to feel like you’re saving the environment? Browse Patagonia’s website. Want to feel like your finances are under control? Read up on responsible budgeting!

Worse, as the study demonstrates, we are likely to feel like we’ve earned an exemption from our usual obligations. As Julian Baggini writes:

The problem is compounded by the fact that we also tend to over-value the good we do and undervalue the harm. The more you believe that saving the world is the most important thing in it, the more your credit for doing your bit is inflated.

The lesson for personal finances is clear: If we read a lot about responsible saving, we might feel like we’ve earned an exception to our normal savings rules.

Combine this effect and the dangers of completionism, and you’ve got a recipe for inaction.

How to recognize it
No doubt you’re thinking, “Ha, I’d hate to be the sap who is so easily affected by what I read.” But take a minute to reflect on the variety of ways this kind of inertia can get in your way. Here’s where a personal example might help.

This past weekend, my wife and I resolved to spend several hours completing unfinished “life business.” We looked at our savings strategy, our investments, the stack of papers in our “To Do” pile. What we uncovered was an unpleasant surprise.

Last fall, I set up an automated a savings plan using ING sub-accounts. Or at least, I thought I did. In fact, I set up the process, and routinely violated the rules, taking money out of different accounts when emergencies came up. It had become a cumbersome, complicated checking account, but that hadn’t stopped me from telling people I’d “automated my saving.” I thought I had.

I found a box of Stuff, the product of a purge from last fall that I’d meant to take to goodwill. Sure, the clothes weren’t hanging in the closet and the books were off the shelves, but I still had the Stuff, every unnecessary piece of it.

Worst of all, I went through Google Reader. Guess how many items were tagged with “dothis”? This many!

That’s right: 220 items on my to do list, almost all of them undone. Of course, this is partially a flaw in the type of things I call “to do” items. But reflecting on my experience I found a common thread: in each case, I told myself I had finished something I had only started. I thought of myself as organized because I had a long to-do list, boxes packed with things to throw away, and the skeleton of an automated finance system.

What to do about it
Happily, this problem has a straightforward solution: keep your goals and your successes separate. The success of automated finances is measured in dollars saved at the end of the year, not by the number of savings goals you create. Tally your decluttering by the number of boxes you hand off at Goodwill, not the hours spent shuffling Stuff from one place to the next. And, finally, count your accomplishments, not the number of items on your list.

The single easiest way to do this is as follows:

Grab your calendar (or open it in a new tab).

Pick a consistent date each month (the last Saturday, for instance).

Write down a question that frames your goals in concrete terms (e.g. “How many dollars did I save this month?)

Make a space for an answer to that question, and every month, write down the answer.

Sure, it might seem unnecessary (heck, you might feel like you’ve already taken care of this problem, just by reading this blog post!), but do it anyway. That’s one task you can feel no qualms about completing.

Outstanding post! I see this all too often in so many contexts. Many people substitute talking about something or reading about something for actually DOING something. I like your suggestion to track your results as well your goals.

Interesting post. I have some things I really need to accomplish but find myself reading about similar accomplishments on the ‘Net instead of getting mine done. I think you’ve nailed me. Thanks for the wake-up call!

What a timely post for me. I’d been thinking about this same thing in regards to my small business. I haven’t done ANYTHING in marketing for months (and have not a lot of business). I realized that I got satisfaction (which I realize after reading your post was a false sense of completion) from just *thinking about* all the great ways I could increase my business, but then didn’t do a thing.

I feel like I’ve been doing similar things ever since I was a kid…before blogs, websites, and the internet…*gasp!* But back then it was related to movies. I’d see a Rocky movie and want to be a boxer, then Karate Kid and want to take Karate. I even wrote a paper in the third grade on becoming an archaeologist when I grew up, most likely after watching an Indiana Jones movie. It’s interesting to me to see that those same child-like mentalities of wanting to imitate the things that we see stick with us into adulthood.

220 dothis’s?
ROFL!
I’ve been there, and I stopped flagging stuff in the Reader when I realised that if I wanted to do these things, I should do them instead of flagging them .
Good post, by the way. This phenomenon does have one advantage: instead of going out and buying something nice, I can sit down at my computer and read about it, and feel just as good .

What makes this a bit embarrassing for me is that I knew better. I’ve had project management training and there the rule is “a goal (i.e. the result of a task) must be meaningful and measurable.” You can’t say “make widgets,” you have to say “make 100 widgets.” You’re not done until you’ve made 100, then you can cross that off your list and celebrate.

I think it’s okay to have a goal to read, for example, one book or 20 blog posts on personal finance in a month, but recognize that that’s all you did. It didn’t count toward your goal of opening an IRA or cleaning out your spare bedroom.

I’m reminded of the Peter Drucker quote, “What gets measured gets done.” I think it’s also important to remember that it isn’t ONLY about the measurement. How you get there counts too. For example, it is possible for you to reach your savings goal by stealing (extreme example I know but I’m making a point). You want to have a measurement but you should also have a plan of action.

One of my goals this year is to have more fun with my son. I measure that as three father/son activities each week. I could easily hit that by watching TV with him or taking him out to dinner. However, that’s almost cheating on the real intent of this goal. Instead, I’ve developed a plan that’s as important as the goal itself.

I loved the post and I think you’re spot on. I just thought this was another dimension to consider.

Wish I could say it was timely, too… but it’s really, really late! I could have used this when I was a teenager! And again in my 20′s! I’ve finally learned not to over-think all the time, but jump right in … “The Perfect is the Enemy of the Goood”. And I’m SO much further ahead with this approach!

I realized a couple of months ago that I was spending more time reading about people doing things than actually doing them myself. About two months ago, I started a new thing I’ve been calling my “Weekend 3″. http://dawezl.livejournal.com/189278.html

Since the only serious blocks of time I have to get things done are on the weekends, I pick out three goals each weekend that are connected to the priorities I’ve decided to focus on. Currently, those goals are centered around (A) working on an animated film that I’ve been wanting to finish, (B) tackling larger fix-up chores around the house, and (C) taking care of things that have been sitting on my to-do list for far too long.

By focusing on 3 clear tasks, I find that I almost always complete all three of them. In addition, a lot of times I find that I even do more than what I set out to do, just bc it seems easy to tackle while I’m doing my primary tasks. Last Saturday evening, I wanted to just kick back and watch tv, but I realized that if I didn’t take care of my normal chores, I wouldn’t have enough time to take care of my Weekend 3. I ended up working hard until 10pm to make sure everything got done.

Though I would encourage you to look at some of these partially completed projects in a different way. Definitely not as completed, but doing a little bit at a time is actually highly beneficial for productivity. Look at them as “started” and decide to work on projects that have been started before or in conjunction with new projects.

For example: Putting together the goodwill box was a great way to start. It meant the next step was taking things to goodwill. You don’t have to put together the goodwill box AND take it to goodwill at the same time. If you think of the task as one huge project, you might not even get the goodwill box together because by the time you get everything together goodwill might not be open anymore and what’s the point in starting?

Sure, one day set aside to “do things” can get a lot finished, but it can also exhaust you and finding that one day to set aside is difficult.

Instead, look through that 220 list… order it in importance or ease of doing or don’t order it at all. Start from the top. Work on #1 for an hour or two, or 15 min if that’s all you have time for. Then move to #2. Then go on with your life. Next day, work on #1 for a while, then move on to #2. Continue until #1 or #2 is done, then move to #3. And so on. Brief daily sessions. You don’t need a big block of time and you can get more done than just reading a blog post for the day.

(Robert Boice is a psychology professor and productivity expert– he writes books for writers and faculty members, but his advice really works for all aspects of life. Start before you’re ready. Finish before you’re ready. Work in brief daily sessions a little bit every day. Then you won’t burn out.)

It’s counter-intuitive to our American culture of doing big things all at once and then collapsing. But slow and steady really does win the race.

I’d be interested to see what was deemed an emergency in these cases, and what account(s) money was withdrawn from, because if these were emergencies and the account was an emergency fund then isn’t that serving the correct purpose?

Hope that doesn’t sound picky, but if you are acting as you intended to then that is nothing to beat yourself up about.

Excellent post. Reminds me of a quote I saw recently, credited to Ross Perot (I paraphrase): The activist is not the person who says the river is polluted. The activist is the person who cleans up the river.

Great post and important message. I particularly like the challenge to measure your progress by your accomplishments/output, rather than by the size of your to do list (and, I might add, by the size of your email box).

Here’s a variation on the theme: as a person who knows I’m good at doing research and analysis, I set the objective of researching and determining the best option before proceeding on an important task. I can research and think about a decision forever. This tactic is EXCELLENT for helping me to NOT accomplish the task (still doing research!).

I think the solution is to accept small steps and limited action, be ready to fail or make mistakes – and to make quick course corrections. Just get started – and make sure you finish!

Thanks for all the great comments. Nicole, I definitely think you are on to something: it’s not a case of all or nothing, and starting is better than nothing.

In fact, though it may not have come across in the post, there was something encouraging about realizing that I could just take the box over to Goodwill: I hadn’t needed any of that stuff, and I just needed to finish it. Similarly, it was much easier to get back into using the ING accts they way I should after having them already set up. It was more like a light bulb going off in my head as I realized this mental trap I had fallen into, as opposed to being discouraged.

Also, thanks to Tony for pointing out that emergency funds can be used in emergencies. That’s definitely true and it was an emergency (our car was totaled by another driver, and we had to use to cash to purchase another while waiting for the insurance dispute to resolve). I guess my concern was more about the fact that I left things in disarray afterwards instead of focusing on keeping the system intact.

While I enjoy a variety of different authors on GRS, as different posters have different takes on old tried-and-true methods including concepts or tips that are intriguing, I feel that this post doesn’t seem to offer very much that is new, except for a slight spin on an old concept which simply didn’t capture its intended audience’s attention.

After a confusing jump between criticism, first person-narrative, then “statistical examples” (no source was really cited, nor percentages given) I feel there was no real “flow” in the post, and that the beginning in and of itself (which when not very interesting occasionally manages to turn itself around later on in the article to the surprise of the reader) really took away the interest, as little of value was added to back up claims through-out.

The moral of the post is “knowledge is useless when it is not applied to real life/ applicable to you and can therefore be time consuming” but I feel it could have been summed up in a more personable fashion, perhaps mostly-based on personal experience?

There is a certain writing style perfected by J.D., April, Adam and Sierra that truly compliments this site, and provokes discussion amongst readers, and beyond my own opinion, citing the amount of reader comments alone, I myself can validate that this article could have certainly used some improvement…

It’s the cursed Information Age! You start browsing and discover dozens of interesting sources, tips, techniques. And finally you realize you did not do anything with real impact, just touched the surface…

Advertiser Disclosure:
Many of the savings offers appearing on this site are from advertisers from which this website receives compensation for being listed here.
This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). These offers do not represent all deposit accounts available.

Disclaimer:All information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. GetRichSlowly.org makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any damages arising from its display or use.